Indian Army

With the largest force in the region and the third largest army in the world, the IA is comprised of 1,100,000 members excluding the full mobilization of 300,000 first-line reserves (former regular soldiers with five years service commitment) and a further 500,000 who have a commitment until age 50. The Territorial Army adds an additional 40,000 first-line and 160,000 second-line troops. The Indian Army’s capability has forced regional rivals like Pakistan to recognize its position within the local hierarchy and in doing so, Pakistan has adopted a defensive doctrine inherently understood by its title “Riposte”.

The Indian Army is divided into seven commands: six geographic/operational commands and one Army Training Command — all working under the control of GHQ New Delhi. According to self reporting, each command is ran by a general officer in the rank of lieutenant-general and is responsible for his respective geographical area including field formations and static installations. As one would expect from India’s geopolitical situation, policy states that operational commands must be able to execute operations independently of each others in a two-front conflict (read: defense against China & Pakistan).

The six operational commands and their associated HQs are:

1) Northern Command, Udhampur, J&K

2) Western Command, Chandimandir, Haryana

3) Central Command, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

4) Southern Command, Pune, Maharashtra

5) Eastern Command, Kolkata, West Bengal

6) Southwestern Command, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Of note, the South Western Command was recently created in 2005 to reportedly bolster the strike capabilities on the Indo-Pakistan border and decrease the operational stretch of Northern Command. Two divisions of XVI Corps of Northern Command formed a new IX Corps in SW Command.